Winning The Hearts And Minds

One of the biggest problems the #Occupy mobs have had from the outset is PR. A lot of the average folk tend to see them as slightly loony and dangerous thugs with no coherent message, out to get their way no matter who says or does what.

This is probably because a significant number of them are at least slightly loony and dangerous thugs with no coherent message, out to get their way no matter who says or does what. But despite that little handicap, they’ve done their level best (with the able assistance of the media, the unions, and the Democratic Party — but I repeat myself) to project a positive message.

In the last couple of days, though, they’ve had even more handicaps. And even the best spinmeisters would be seriously challenged to manage these.

In New York, they turned their ire away from just Wall Street and turned on other targets. In this case, they leveled their righteous wrath on a truly worthy target — elementary school children. But not just any children; these kids go to an elite prep school right near Wall Street, so they’re part of the 1% too, the children of privilege, so that makes it all right.

Now, is this the way all the #Occupy folks feel? Do they all share these beliefs? Of course not.

But it’s worth noting that a lot of people, in both cases, went along with the actions of the few. And damned few actively opposed them. There were no cries of “leave them kids alone!” in New York, or boos and catcalls and denunciations at the respect for the White House shooter.

As the left likes to say in other contexts, “silence equals consent.” They went along with it, so they own it.

Remember, this is the crowd that has the blessing of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, countless other Democrats, and many Democrat-supporting groups like unions and “social justice” nuts. So until they do something to repudiate their earlier support, this is on them.

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PR is not a priority for these folks. hmm…Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Anonymous

I disagree. PR is a priority for OWS – it’s just that they believe that everyone else would think like them, given the chance. Their target market is getting exactly the message they want to put out, they just don’t realize how small their actual target market is…

When they see the Marxists and flavor-of-the-week lefties who have been spouting off at the OWS rallies, most of the supporters are thinking “Well, you just don’t have enough intellectual background to appreciate what they’re really trying to say. I do, so I’m better than you.”

To a moderate (and noisy) number of people, extreme leftist views are just a half-step beyond what they believe in on a daily basis, so when you complain about someone calling for arrests of everyone making more than a few million a year, or for the firebombing of New York City, they’re assessing that with “We wouldn’t arrest EVERYONE, and, well, not ALL of New York City – you darned right-wingers are just too sensitive.”

The problem is (like with the Tea Party) a fractionalized message. The strength of the Tea Party and Occupy IS the Grass Roots behind it (it gives it validity). The problem is, like with pure democracy, there is NO single message since everyone has their pet project.

Now, brace yourself, the Occupy and Tea Party have more things in common than either side wants to admit. Both are too wrapped up in hyperbole however to notice and try to work together.

Anonymous

Not so much. When you look at the names, for example, “Taxed Enough Already” sorta leaps out. Sure, the left has tried to pin pretty much every right-wing concept on the Tea Party, but the actual message is “stop spending money and stop adding new taxes.” That hasn’t changed.

The OWS people? All over the place. You can point to pretty much any harebrained left-wing plan, and a sizable fraction of Occupiers will up-twinkle it.

At least in these parts, the TEA party has slowly evolved to include social issues. That irked the crap out of me and a number of other fiscally conservative people.

OWS is completely all over the place because it’s run by kids. What do kids want the most? To be in charge of themselves (no leaders). But they don’t have the mental wherewithal to function in a society, so they need people like parents to back them up when they fail spectacularly.

I’d beg to differ… There’s two messages based on where the movements are happening. The west Occupy movements seem to have more anarchists, while the east movements want more reformist methods. The fact is, everyone agrees that the two party system is not representing their interests. But the goals are all over the place because there’s so many people that have yet to find their voices in this atmosphere quite yet.

What people are constantly inundated with are images of police brutality. Now in Oakland, there’s a lot to be said about the militarization of the police. The police are BRUTAL compared to NY that hasn’t had as many riot police. What I’m pointing out are the differences in values respective to each Occupy movement. So the question is, is there any way for people to have a voice in Congress as well as gain credence for their ideas?

Judging from the response in NY (30,000 people protested last night) it seems those in MSM might want to pay attention.

What people are constantly inundated with are images of police brutality.

Gee I thought we were being inundated with images of filth, violence and anti-American hate. All I have seen is a bunch of rather ignorant people, with mostly incoherent ideas and demands, protesting against capitalism and the idea of having to work for what you have. I have seen a lot of violence (assaults and rapes), drug abuse and law breaking.

I have seen disrespect not so much for a government that you say people dislike, but of regular people trying to lead their lives without anyone bothering them. I see OWS protesters demanding free food, harassing and threatening school children, threatening and assaulting news reporters and obstructing criminal investigations.

In sum, I have seem a bunch of self absorbed and ignorant people demanding exemption from the realities of life the rest of us are trying to deal with daily. Not very attractive but perhaps compelling TV.

jim, I find you to be one of the more respectable debators on this site. While we don’t always agree on every issue, you bring up your points far better than others.

Then you use your knowledge to bring about all of this rhetoric that I don’t think makes much sense, other than to dismiss the movement.

For every account of violence, drug abuse and law breaking, I can match you story for story in terms of problems with police ignoring the calls for assistance, masquerading as protestors, or finding reasons to rough people up.

I’m not sure of the supposed disrespect for people trying to lead their lives. Nine percent of people polled think Congress is representing them. There is a growing need for a government to address some of the issues, and that has not happened in the past 12 years arguably. More people agree on the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street than Congressional approval. Sure, I disagree with the Tea Party because they’re batshit insane and Michele Bachmann is crazy. But when you have this much of a difference in the numbers (9% vs 57% & 56% respectively), it’s time to admit that something is wrong with the system.

Finally, jim, it’s a great accusation to sit here and dismiss a movement, but how much do you follow their complaints and grievances, built up over 30 years? That’s kind of a long time to sit here and have people brutalized by police who are still trying to fight a war on drugs with more enforcement. Now you have those same cops using the same brutal tactics on students and people that have no right to have their property seized, the government to organize the takedowns, and people to find out the horrid conditions of our police officers.

I’m not taking away anything from your point of view. The fact remains that there are quite a number of serious issues that would need to be addressed when everything is said and done. But I would express caution in saying the movement has no merit when all the reporting of it is focused on disparaging it as much as possible.

retired.military

Is it police brutality if they are simply trying to beat sense into the OWS crowd?

jim_m

the Occupy and Tea Party have more things in common than either side wants to admit.

Seriously? The TEA Party had a distinct message of reduced spending, lower taxation and roll back of government regulation and overreach. The TEA Party was noted for patriotic gestures like reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and flying the flag. The TEA Party drew far larger crowds and when they were finished they left the venues cleaner than when they arrived.

At the same time the MSM portrayed the TEA Party as violent and racist.

Contrast the OWS movement, which after initially issuing a host of lunatic left, anti-capitalist/communist demands has reverted to demanding nothing, screeching class warfare slogans and mindless anti-American rhetoric. The OWS is noted for violence with numerous assaults, rapes and even murders occurring in their midst and with drug abuse and contagion running rampant through their filthy campsites where they have virtually destroyed the parks and neighborhoods they occupy. They have threatened passers by and assaulted local businesses damaging property and injuring people.

The OWS people are noted for their anti-Americanism, desecrating the flag, and their antipathy toward having to actually work for a living.

Perhaps the best part was the OWS protester laboring to draw a distinction between private and personal property. The bottom line being that one was someone else’s stuff and the other was their own. They had a right to their own stuff but other’s don’t have a right to theirs.

And with all that the MSM has portrayed the OWS as peaceful and popular, despite the violence, filth and hate spewing from the mouths of the protesters, and despite the polls showing that it is increasingly unpopular. The MSM also goes to lengths to hide the fact that OWS is supported by unpopular groups such as the Communist Party and the American Nazi Party and is supported by many of our enemies abroad.

Additionally, the MSM is eager to advance the OWS narrative blaming private industry for America’s economic woes but works assiduously to hide the contribution of government to those problems. Nor does the MSM bother to point out the blatant hypocrisy of many OWS supporters who are quite obviously in the top 1% of earners being Hollywood stars etc.

Yep. The similarities abound. I would say that the similarities go as far as both are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. Beyond that they are polar opposites in terms of what should be done to fix it and how they should go about fixing it.

You’re confusing “the messengers” and “the message”. Most of the people at the OWS are immature, and regardless of the message would be…well..idiots. Yes, leftists tend to attract those who think they are “owed” things by society. And with all that the MSM has portrayed the OWS as peaceful and popular, despite the violence, filth and hate spewing from the mouths of the protesters, and despite the polls showing that it is increasingly unpopular.

Oh I agree…but the violence has been getting traction in the media. Again, “if it bleeds, it leads” and a dead druggie is not going to lead over twenty different camera angles of a pepper spray blast. Notice who CNN fired recently (a chunk of their own video crews)? Crowdsourcing their video is cheaper, but it also gives them one specific angle for most stories.

Yep. The similarities abound. I would say that the similarities go as far as both are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. Beyond that they are polar opposites in terms of what should be done to fix it and how they should go about fixing it.

The similarities do abound. Net/net, OWS seems to want less business involvement in government. Which can be done with less government involvement in business. There have already been a few meetings between OWS and TEAParty members…

As you all know by now, here in Seattle, the boys in blue pepper sprayed a poor, 84-year old grandma, as well as a pregnant woman and a priest. The sympathy poured out, the media tripped over themselves to get an interview. OWS cried police police overkill. Many Seattleites were up in arms. And The Nation’s Dumbest Mayor got down on bended knee to apologize to the OWS protesters.

Then the facts were revealed. And OWS little stunt of propping up grandma back fired and badly.

Turns out granny is a lifelong anti-war activist and self-proclaimed protester. The reason she and the rest of the crowd were pepper sprayed, is that they were unlawfully assembling and blocking a major intersection. The crowd was repeatedly told to disperse—that means right frakkin’ now. They did not. At that point, a 17-year old girl attacked a police offer with a broom handle and rushed back into the crowd that proceeded to surround her and protect her from the police who were going to arrest her. The crowd did not give her up so that’s when granny, the priest, the pregnant woman (just months, BTW) along with her cohorts, got a soothing shower of cayenne goodness.

And guess what? All this happened at the height of rush hour downtown. You want to piss off the average passive-aggressive Seattleite? Do that. That was bad PR Move #1.

Think the OWS protesters learned their PR lesson? Nope. Last night was bad PR Move #2. They blocked a bridge going out of downtown. (At least this time they had a permit.) And again, and again as you can guess, it was during rush hour.

Here’s the lesson: You want to change
things, no matter the endeavor or cause, you have to win people over to
your side. Alienating the public by blocking their way home or to
appointments, soccer games, etc. is 100% counterproductive to that endeavor, It may
get your cause on the evening news, ever so briefly, but the bad PR
fallout will undermine the cause every time.

Personally, I hope they keep doing stunts like these. The lack PR introspection and self-awareness is really quite amusing to me as a marketing professional, plus the do more to undermine their cause (whatever it is this week) than I could ever (and want to) do.

Anonymous

“They blocked a bridge going out of downtown. (At least this time they had a permit.) And again, and again as you can guess, it was during rush hour.”

Has the moron in the city government that issued a permit to let protesters block a bridge during rush hour been tarred and feathered yet?

Anonymous

Are you seriously saying that someone issued a permit to block a bridge? That’s maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

Again, kids feeling “the message” is the important vehicle without realizing the impact it has on everyone else. They only know “get the message out” and they employ the shortest sighted tactics to broadcast those views. Blocking rush hour. Brilliant!

jim_m

Almost as brilliant as threatening a bunch of second grade children on the way to school.

I’m saying exactly that. Mayor McGinn let them to do it, so that’s as good as permit in my book. (I took a few liberties in assuming that the mayor’s indifference was a “permit”.) There were NO arrests, either.

Oysteria

I’m giving them, and congressional Dems, some serious down twinkles.

Anonymous

68% of americans do not support OWS. (Flea Party) They are takers of society. They do not contribute except for the guilty millionaire or two. It disgusts me the way the MSM is carrying the water for this planned movement. ww

You keep forgetting who is interested in OWS. News won’t carry it if it doesn’t put butts in the seats to watch it. Somewhere, somehow, the networks think (or have proof) that wall to wall coverage on this…well…it good for viewership.

Anonymous

Yet NBC allows MSNBC to run as a virtually 100% progressive news network with an audience a tiny fraction of Fox. Either the network heads at NBC are bad at their jobs or your premise is not supported by the data.

I do allow that the former can not be ruled out, but the latter seems to be the better bet.

What’s their advertising revenue? What’s their cost to run the network? You can’t run an unprofitable venture forever…my guess is numbers wise they aren’t going to pull in the vast amount of cash Fox does, but they are probably still profitable.

As of a year ago, MSNBC gets ~$0.16 per subscriber. Cha. Ching. Until the cable/satellite bandwidth glut hits in about five years (when people move off the subscriber model and onto on-demand)…expect them to be around for a while.

jim_m

Not necessarily so. The MSM has shown that it will put out what serves its agenda. It will ignore news that does not serve the narrative and OWS serves the MSM narrative very well. They can show lefty dissatisfaction with the government, people demanding more taxes, more government intervention, government control of industries, and increased government handouts.

Remember that, apart from FOX, the MSM is pretty monolithic in their treatment of the news and in their editorial outlook. There is little risk of the competition going with a different storyline. Funny, how they never consider that when they look at FOX’s ratings and see how they are all getting clobbered by FOX.